My journey to a healthy life

Tag Archives: weight loss journey

This is the blog I’ve been waiting to write, and at times I really wasn’t sure that I would ever be able to write it! But now it is official, so I can shout it from the roof-tops and share it with all of you… I have officially lost 50 lbs and am halfway to my goal weight! Actually, I have technically lost 51.8 lbs thanks to a 2 lb loss this week!

Having been overweight or obese for pretty much my entire life, I never really believed that I could lose weight. I tried so many times only to give up quickly afterwards. At one point I managed to lose 20 lbs, but quickly gained all of that back plus more. Even with my interest in fitness and nutrition (and a minor certification), I still could not seem to find something that worked for me. I have talked about Sparkpeople before on this blog, and it was through using this site that I lost 20 lbs in the past. It has also helped me on this journey of 50 lbs lost (so far). But while I absolutely love the Sparkpeople community and everything they have done to help and support me, this has not been the key to my success.

I believe that the biggest reason I have been so successful this time around is because I completely changed my life. I stepped out of the old life that I lived before, where it was so easy to fall back into old patterns, and created an entirely new life for myself. Moving to Washington was the catalyst for the progress I have made in my life and my weight-loss journey. I was suddenly in a place where no one knew my limitations, so I was able to push them aside and redefine who I am. I was no longer the lazy woman who would rather snack on a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos than walk around the block. I had broken through my shell and was now looking at the world with new eyes, ready to explore new directions and try new things.

I still have a long way to go before I reach my goal, but I know that I will reach it. Even with all of my success, I am still technically obese, at least according to the BMI charts, but I am only 5 lbs away from hitting the overweight range of BMI. From there its only about 25 lbs to a healthy range. When I picked my initial goal, I picked a number right in the middle of the healthy BMI range for my height. I still think it’s a pretty ambitious number and I am not sure if that is where I ultimately want to end up. I will be happy to finish in the healthy range, but will work until I find the right weight for my body. I am not looking to be thin or skinny, I want to be fit and healthy… and I’m getting there!

I have a lot of big plans in the works right now that I am very excited about. I am putting together a huge project that will kick off on July 16th and last for an entire year. My birthday is July 15th, so I consider this a perfect time to kickoff a project of this magnitude. I am still working on the details, but will be blogging about the project a few times before it begins.

I will also be moving forward with the first step in my new career plans soon. I am looking to start preparing for the ACE Personal Trainer certification in mid-July or August (depending when I can get the money saved for the study materials). I am hoping to take the exam sometime in early 2013. This will be the first step necessary for my ACE Weight-loss and Lifestyle Coach certification, which is my ultimate goal. I would also eventually like to be ISSA certified as well. I still have some work to do on my own weight loss journey, but I’m not letting that hold me back from pursuing my dreams any longer.

Also on the books is continuing to grow my blog, and to convert it to a self-hosted site. Because I am new to the whole deal, I am doing research on this right now and am hoping to start the conversion process very soon (like sometime in June). I will most likely need to tap into my brother’s expertise to help me get everything situated since he is the guru of all things I.T.

I am also thinking about putting together a challenge for myself in June. I love reading about the challenges my fellow bloggers are doing and am toying around with some ideas for my own challenge right now. I will post details once I have everything coordinated.

I feel like I am really on a role and want to keep the great momentum moving forward!